earth and ice
by general zargon
Summary: Rated T for language, when kall su takes a walk one morning he gets more than he bargained for in the form of a fiery tempered healer in training. R&R! ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!
1. Chapter 1

general zargon: i am alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

ryuuketsu: damn -snaps fingers- now i owe gara 500 gold coins

general zargon:-eyebrow twitches- you were betting on me?-pulls out trusty shotgun-

ryuuketsu:-gulp- uh enjoy the story!!-runs away-

general zargon: get back here!!-runs after ryuuketsu- enjoy the chapter!!!!

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the moon shone brightly through the window to land on the sleeping face of a blonde haired boy who looked to be around 10 or 11 years old, with a sigh kall-su opened his eyes to reveal cold blue orbs, kall-su rubbed his eyes to clear the sleep from them before opening his eyes again "not even close to dawn yet" he muttered while wondering what could of possibly woken him up 'not arshes, schneider is on the other side of the castle, so what then?!' he was beginning to get frustrated and thought a walk would clear his head.

when he was dressed he made his way out of the castle they were staying at for the moment, he listened to the sounds for a few more moments before he began walking aimlessly as the moon slowly crossed the sky to tell him time was passing 'i still can't figure out what woke me' he thought in disappointment and with a sigh he prepared to turn back when a bush rustled and an orc jumped at him with a club raised for a killing strike.

kall-su instinctively jumped aside to avoid the orc's club as he cursed himself a fool for leaving his ice falchion inside his room, kall-su continued to avoid the orc's strikes occassionally casting ice spells but they didn't seem to affect the beast 'damn it!' he thought visciously as the orc finally landed a powerful blow to his back, kall-su bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain as his back screamed at him.

he took a breath and avoided the club as it came down again, only to recieve a bone shattering blow to his arm which caused him to bite his lip so hard he drew blood with a snarl he thrust his hand into the orc's face and cast a powerful ice spell that finally killed the beast but completely drained kall-su 'damn' he thought as he dragged himself away from the corpse before he lost consciousness.

when he came to the first thing that registered was the fact that someone was feeling his forehead, with a start he sat up only to cry out as his back screamed in protest, a quiet voice spoke up from beside him "you shouldn't move to much, that orc really hurt you" with an effort of will kall-su managed to turn his head to look at the owner of the voice and felt his breath catch in his throat.

the owner of the voice was a girl about 9 or 10 years old with dark brown hair and emerald green eyes that glowed with kindness which drew his attention the most "who are you?" kall-su finally said when he could make his throat work again, the girl smiled and said "i'm mara, what's your name?" he was hard pressed to answer "i'm kall-su" he finally replied and mara smiled and said "do you mind if i heal you?" he must have looked startled because mara giggled.

mara continued to smile as she explained "my father's a healer and i'm learning from him, though i'm afraid i'm not that good at it" as she said that she sighed in frustration "okay, go ahead" kall-su said and mara beamed and put her hands on his arm, in a few seconds the pain in his arm disappeared completely then she moved to his back and he felt the same results.

kall-su gave a small smile as he flexed his arm and then stretched his back and his smile grew as he discovered that healed as well 'and she said she wasn't any good' he thought and looked to see her anxiously waiting for him to speak "i feel great" he said and he truly meant it he thought as he watched her beam in delight "i did it" she exclaimed and danced in delight "why do you think your not good at healing"  
kall-su asked curiously.

mara stopped dancing and said quietly "i live with a lot of my siblings so i guess i just don't think i can be nearly as good at what i do than they are at what they do" kall nodded in understanding at her reply and watched as she stood and dusted herself off "i better get home, my mother and father are probably worried" she said and kall quickly stood up and spoke without thinking "i'll go with you!" she looked startled and kall quickly explained "it's dangerous at night so i'll just make sure you get there safetly" she smiled and nodded.

mara hummed a quiet tune to herself and kall asked "how far away do you live" she turned to him and said "not that far now so you'd better go" at his hurt look she hurried to explain "it's not you, it's just that my parents are very protective so they might not like me bringing home a boy and i don't want you to get in trouble because of me" kall nodded, relieved that she liked him enough to care if he got in trouble, then an idea struck him "i have an idea" he said with a big smile as he started to glow faintly.

when the glow faded, where kall used to be there was now a tiny ice dragon who stood there nervously while mara stared in shock before she recovered and exclaimed "your so cute!!" while the dragon was in shock she grabbed him and preceeded to coo and cuddle him until he recovered enough to think straight and give a puzzled chirp in reply.

mara grinned and said "my parents will never know! now you just act cute and everything will be fine" kall decided that would be a good idea and then he decided that he was tired of being cuddled so he clammered out of mara's arms and onto her right shoulder where he perched and wrapped his tail around her neck to better balance himself.

a few minutes later they came to the outskirts of a village and almost immediately an older woman ran up to them and exclaimed "mara!! we were so worried about you!!" the woman, whom kall figured to be mara's mother, hugged mara then gasped when she noticed the dragon on her daughter's shoulder "where did you get that" she exclaimed and mara narrowed her eyes and planted her hands on her hips "'it' is kall!! and i found him in the forest!! so there!" she said defiantly and her mother gasped in surprise to her daughter's tone.

kall was amazed that mara defended him against her own mother, he chirped at her mother to show his support of her daughter, the woman frowned and sighed "okay, you can keep uh kall?" mara cheered and kall, despite himself, chirped in delight at mara 'cute!!' mara's mother thought to herself as she watched kall as he perched on her daughter's shoulder.

kall's head was spinning by the time the introductions to mara's family were over, mara looked at kall as he almost fell off her shoulder "it's okay, even mom and dad have trouble keeping track of all of us sometimes!" mara smiled gently at kall once he regained his balance '9 siblings, the horror' kall thought once the dizziness left and he could think straight again 'and i thought i had it bad!' he thought in sympathy as mara retired to her room.

once she reached her room, mara giggled and said to kall "my family likes you" he nodded and shuddered as he remembered the cuddling, oh the horror, "well, you better get back to your family since it's almost midday" kall blinked as he looked out the window to see she was right 'has it really been that long?' he thought in disbelief but snapped out of it once mara spoke again "well, it's been great knowing you kall, you better get going" kall was shocked to see tears in mara's eyes, with conviction he leaned over and licked up her tears.

with one look back at mara he took off and instantly missed the warmth of her neck in his tail 'maybe we'll see each other again' but then kall shook his head and thought 'bah! we haven't known each other for a day yet!' he firmly told himself and chirped in alarm as he narrowly avoided flying into a tree 'snap out of it!' he shouted at himself as he landed a small ways away from the castle and transformed back and walked in, and thankfully didn't run into anyone given how distracted he was, with a sigh he thought 'forget about her' as if.

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general zargon: review!!!

ryuuketsu:-is locked in sock drawer- review so he'll let me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	2. promise

general zargon: chapter 2!!!!!!

ryuuketsu:-is still locked in drawer-help me!!!

general zargon: shut up!!!-bangs on drawer- enjoy the chapter!!!

ryuuketsu: yeah enjoy-grumbles-

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kall-su looked longingly out the window of his room, he just couldn't get that girl out of his head!, 'maybe no one will notice that i'm gone' he thought hopefully as he stood up and looked around carefully before glowing softly and transforming into an ice dragon and then spread his tiny wings and took off in the general direction of mara's house 'i'll just stay a little while' he assured himself as he continued on.

kall looked around and finally spotted mara hanging clothes out to dry 'yes!' he thought in delight as he spotted mara's open window and looking around he snuck in without a second thought, as he settled himself on a comfortable pillow he thought to himself 'hmm, comfy, i'll just wait here for her to get back' with a tiny sigh he stared eagerly at the door.

mara hummed a quiet tune as she finished hanging clothes out to dry and started towards her room 'i wonder how kall is doing' she thought to herself as she slowly opened the door to her room and as she turned around after closing the door her breath caught in her throat, for there, sitting on one of her pillows, was kall and he was looking at her and he gave a little chirp that sounded suspiciously like 'hello'  
mara was across the room in a flash as she cuddled kall "oh kall! it is you!" she cried out.

mara finally pulled back with happy tears running down her face which kall licked away with a happy chirp "it's great to see you again" mara whispered as she hugged kall, who chirped in agreement at which mara pulled back and with a smile said "guess what? i kinda have 11 siblings but one is a bard and the other is a mercenary so we don't see them very often but this evening my father got letters from both of them saying that they were coming home for awhile!" kall gaped in horror '2 more siblings? noooo!' he thought and gave a sad chirp to which mara laughed.

kall climbed up to mara's right shoulder and wrapped his tail around her neck and sighed contently and thought 'much better, even though i have to remember 2 more names' he added as an after thought, mara smiled brightly at kall and said "come on, they should be here for dinner" kall nodded and mara walked towards the dining room and kall felt his stomach rumble at the thought of food "hungry huh?" mara asked and kall gave an answering chirp in response.

the dragon sighed happily as the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen, one of mara's sisters was a great chef if he recalled correctly, and he tightened his tail around mara's neck as she helped set the table "sorry kall" she said as she bent over again to place a plate down and he chirped as a way of saying 'your forgiven', mara's mother, gwen if he recalled right, called "the foods ready!!" kall chirped in delight at the thought of food.

by the time they had all the food out kall was close to drooling in hunger, mara giggled and snuck a piece of chicken and gave it to kall who eagerly gobbled it up,  
there was a knock at the door and mara called out "i'll get it!" she ran to the door and opened it only to exclaim "thizuro!! kimira!!" she hugged the two people who eagerly returned it, kall chirped in greeting from mara's shoulder.

the woman gasped as she caught sight of the dragon and reached for the sword that hung at her hip "it's okay!! he's friendly!!" mara hurriedly said and the woman who was obviously kimira looked distrustfully at kall who was doing his damnedest to look harmless and cute "easy sis, if mara says he's harmless then he probably is"  
the man named thizuro said soothingly.

kall sighed with relief as kimira took her hand away from her sword and with a glare at him, walked into the house followed by thizuro then mara who closed the door 'that was close' he thought as they all sat down with him sitting on mara's shoulder the tension was soon forgotten as thizuro launched into tales of his travels and soon everyone was laughing as he told of his time in a town that considered hats an insult.

mara giggled as thizuro finished his tale and kimira started on hers which kept eveyone including kall, who despite himself found them interesting, on the edge of they're seats "and that's what happened" kimira finished and everyone clapped and kall chirped in agreement, dinner passed without much excitement after that and when they were all cleaning up kimira asked "mara, where did you get that ice dragon on your shoulder"  
everyone looked up curiously and kall shifted uncomfortably.

mara blushed and said "i found him in the forest" kall gave a comfirming chirp and kimira seemed to accept the answer though she still looked distrustfully at kall who looked innocent "good night everyone!" mara said and kall chirped as well 'sleepy' kall thought and spotted a comfortable pillow beside mara's which he immediately claimed with a delighted chirp and mara collapsed beside the dragon with a giggle and soon both were fast asleep.

the sunlight streaming through the window landed on the face of a sleeping dragon who stirred and slowly opened his eyes 'oh no!!' kall thought as he sat straight up with a horrified chirp as he realized that he'd stayed the whole night! 'arshes is probably starting to worry, schneider probably won't care but damnit!! i never meant to stay this long!!' he thought as mara yawned and looked to see kall sitting upright.

mara smiled sadly and said "you have to go don't you?" kall nodded sadly and mara sat up with tears in her eyes as she smiled again though kall could clearly see it was forced "well, at least promise you'll visit" mara said and kall nodded seriously and with a final chirp at the young healer he took off out the window, kall was surprised when tears blurred his eyes as he shook his head to clear it he thought 'i'll be keeping that promise'  
with that thought he landed in his room and transformed back.

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general zargon: that's the chapter!!!! and here's the review response!!!

To Silver Spider:

general zargon: thanks and yes you probably will see more Bastard!! fics from me!

ryuuketsu:-still locked in sock drawer- get me out of here!!!

general zargon:-bangs on drawer- no!! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ryuuketsu: yeah R&R-grumbles- 


	3. departure

general zargon: yay!!! chapter 3!!!!!!!!!!! 

ryuuketsu:-locked in drawer- get me out of here!!!

general zargon: no!!!! enjoy the chapter!!!

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kall heaved a sigh as he comtemplated escaping out the window again, arshes had clung to him and it had taken schneider a full 3 minutes to pry her off of him while gara had laughed his ass off at them all 'i will never forgive him for that' kall silently vowed to himself, after that he'd been thoroughly questioned, he didn't tell anything so that was a waste of time, he'd been confined to his room and becoming desperate for something to do had set about memorizing the names of mara's siblings.

kall sighed again as he mentally reviewed 'let's see, vilarius is the father and gwen is the mother, thizuro is the bard and kimira is the mercenary, rayne is the chef and ronan is her twin who is an archer, karien is the oldest and is a dancer, damion is the second oldest and is a mage in training, raviel is a practicing necromancer, uriel is a priest in training, salara is a fortune teller, garis is a hunter and last is roselia who is a herb seller, i think that's about it' kall slumped forward and then sat up as he came to a decision.

kall looked warily around as he transformed into the ice dragon and jumped out the window 'to mara's' he thought firmly as he flew to her house and spotted her through the open window, he took a breath as he landed on the window sill and chirped to get her attention, mara jumped at the chirp and proceeded to hug the living daylights out of the poor dragon.

mara let go with a smile and said "i'm so glad you came before i left" kall tilted his head to the side with a confused chirp and mara explained "once a year one of my family goes to Silvercroft and this year i'm finally old enough to go!" kall could see why she was so excited, even he'd heard of Silvercroft as it was supposed to be the greatest market and trading city in the world.

kall then firmly came to a decision and gave a little chirp at mara before settling down on her shoulder with a look on his scaly face that said he wasn't moving an inch which caused mara to giggle at the dragon before she said "i guess that means your coming with me" kall gave an affirming chirp at that.

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general zargon: chapter 3 done!

ryuuketsu: the author apologises for the chapter being so short

general zargon: R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	4. a purchase and a plan

general zargon: chapter 4 here!!! 

ryuuketsu: just keep typing buddy

general zargon: you got it!!!!!

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kall kept his talons firmly attached to mara's shoulder as the wagon ambled along the bumpy road 'damn bumps' he thought to himself as he tightened his tail around mara's neck as she directed the horses "don't worry kall, it's only a few more hours until we get to Silvercroft" mara said soothingly to the irate ice dragon. sure enough a few hours later the gates of Silvercroft came into view "we're finally here kall! i can't wait to look around" mara exclaimed with a bright smile on her face as she looked around for an inn and stables.

shortly after that she and kall, still firmly attached to her shoulder, were walking down the streets of Silvercroft looking in awe at all the booths and shops. to the right a woman was shouting about jewelry and to the left a man was advertising daggers and swords.  
there were so many stores that mara didn't know where to start "kall where should we go first?" she asked with a smile at the dragon who was currently guarding mara's coin pouch from pickpockets. the dragon went away from his task for a moment to look around and after a moment pointed a tiny claw at a quiet looking shop.

mara opened the door to the store a moment later and looked in awe at all the books and scrolls that decorated the shelves "wow"  
mara whispered as she wandered deeper into the shop with kall looking around from his perch atop her shoulder. after a few moments of browsing they left that shop and saw bards and dancers performing in the streets.

mara clapped enthusiastically as the performers bowed and even kall clapped his claws together as the crowd threw coins that the performers eagerly picked up. mara dug into her coin purse and withdrew a gold piece that she threw to the dancers and they smiled at her. mara giggled as they walked down the busy streets and looked at all the shops when one in particular caught her eye and she changed her course towards the store.

the store in question was selling charms and mara instantly headed for one necklace in particular and they both gazed spellbound at it.  
the necklace was simple in design but incredibly beautiful. it was in the shape of a beautiful diamond snowflake and hung on a simple silver chain. mara and kall both jumped when a voice sounded behind them "like that one?" they spun around to see a smiling middle-aged woman and mara replied "yes, what does it do?" the woman answered "it boosts the power of ice" mara instantly pulled out her coin pouch and asked "how much?" the woman replied "since nobody was really interested in that necklace i'll give it to you for three copper coins" mara handed over the coins and left the shop smiling and with the necklace.

kall chirped questioningly at mara with a puzzled look on his face and mara smiled and said "you'll see" kall sighed with a disappointed chirp and thought 'now what could she want with a necklace that increases the power of ice?' he brought himself back to the present and went back to guarding mara's coin pouch from pickpockets as mara headed back towards the inn.

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general zargon: chapter 4 done!!!!!-does the mambo-

ryuuketsu: to the people reading this: REVIEW YOU B$TRD$!!!!!!!!!

general zargon: hey!!!!-pulls out trusty shotgun- don't insult the reviewers!!

ryuuketsu: eep!-ducks gunshot- sorry!

general zargon: please R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	5. a close call

general zargon: new chapter!!!!! 

ryuuketsu: oh for the love of God just start the story!!!

general zargon:-pouts- oh fine-looks at reviewers- enjoy!!

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kall sighed in relief as they both flopped down on bed of their room at the inn. more than one person had asked to buy kall which resulted in parts unmentionable being frozen solid by a very angry ice dragon 'bastards' kall thought sullenly as mara pulled out the necklace she'd bought and set it out in front of her and started to chant softly under her breath. kall watched in interest as the necklace began to glow a soft white before it stopped as mara finished up the chant. kall chirped in question and mara smiled ,though she was clearly exhausted, and picked up the necklace and slipped it around kall's neck.

kall looked down at the dangling snowflake and chirped again in question "i put a spell on it so besides being able to increase ice power it also restores health and energy little by little" mara explained and kall sat in disbelief 'she can do a powerful spell like that?' he thought before he snapped out of it and jumped into mara's arms and chirped rabidly in gratitude before he licked her face in happiness at the gift. mara giggled at the dragon and scratched him under the chin and was repayed with a happy chirp.

an hour later the duo left the room and headed out into the streets again with kall guarding mara's coin pouch yet again. the sun was setting and the crowds started to thin out little by little and soon the only one's left outside were children who gathered around story teller's campfires and listened intently to the stories. mara and kall looked around and mara smiled slightly as she turned to kall and asked "want to go hear a story kall?" kall gave a happy chirp in reply and that was all the answer mara needed.

as mara sat down on a log close to a teller's fire the man started a new story "listen closely children and take heed, i will tell you now what awaits the sin of greed" the man said in a soft and hypnotising to the ear and it held the children spellbound as the teller spoke. mara and kall listened intently to the man's story though all to soon it ended and the children burst into applause, mara and kall being no exceptions. the duo gave the teller a gold coin and went on their way back to the inn. kall didn't know why but he felt like something bad was going to happen.

mara apparently felt the same as she hastened her steps and kall suddenly chirped franticly in alarm right before a strong arm dragged mara backwards and she felt a sharp knife being pressed against her throat "hand over your money and no one has to get hurt" a voice like nails on a chalk board rasped out and suddenly the owner of the voice gave a shout of alarm just before mara was shoved roughly away. kall growled as he continued to claw at the man's, if he could be called that, face and for good measure he lashed his tail across the man's eye causing blood to pour out of the wound.

the man screamed in pain as he clasped his hands across his wounded eye. mara hurriedy scrabbled to her feet and grabbed kall before running back towards the inn. they made back in one piece and mara sank onto the bed in exhaustion then said to kall "thank you" kall chirped back as a way of saying 'your welcome'. the next morning went back into the town again though mara was still nervous "o.k. kall we have to get something for my family and maybe something for your family too" mara told kall and he chirped in agreement though a bit reluctantly at the mention of her family, he still got dizzy trying to remember them all!.

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general zargon: chapter 5 done!!-does the conga-

ryuuketsu: yeah yeah just R&R

general zargon: yeah R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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